And clifton



(No Model.)

E. M. & 0. H. WHEELER. SURFACE GONDBNSER.

No. 510,373A L Patented Der); 5, .1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEIcE,b

FREDERICK MERIAM WHEELER, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, AND CLIFTON I-I. WHEELER, OF FLATBUSH, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS TO THE WHEELER CONDENSER AND ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY.

SURFACE CON-DENSER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 510,373, dated December 5, 1893.

Application filed February 13, 1893. Serial No. 462,022. (No model.) I

.To @ZZ whom i? may concern/.-

Be it known that we, FREDERICK MEEIVAM' WHEELER, of Montclair,in the county ofV Essex and State of New Jersey, and CLIFTON' H. WHEELER, of Flatbush, in the county of. Kings and State of New York, citizens of they sides of such tubes, or the reverse; and these tubes either of copper or brass have most frequently been of uniform size from end to end and they have passed through the heads of the condenser and been rendered tight by tube packings composed of ferrules of wood, vulcanized ber or other suitable materials, or else the condenser heads have been recessed for the reception of screw-threaded sleeves and packing material forming packing glands, but in pratice it is found that these tubes move or crawl endwise so that .one end of a tube will be drawn out from such packing. To prevent this, the ends of the tube have been spread or iared outwardly or else the screw-threaded sleeves have been made with inward projections to arrest the end movement of the tube.

Our present improvement is made with reference to lessening the number of packings made use of in the condenser and for facilitating the insertion yor withdrawal of the tubes whenever necessary. With this obj ect in view a screw-thread is provided around the outside at one end of each tube, such screw-thread being of larger diameter and preferably tapering so as to be screwed firmly and permanently into one head of the condenser, and the other end of such tube passes into or throughany desired packing at the other head of the condenser, so that the plain end of the tube is free to move in such packing endwise as the tube expands or contracts, thus requiring only half the number of packings heretofore usually employed, and when a tube requires to be removed for repair or otherwise the screw-threaded end is unscrewed from the condenser head so that the tube can be withdrawn from the packing at the other end and taken out of the condenser with facility, or such tube can be replaced Withrbiit little trouble.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section of a condenser illustrating the present improvement. Fig. 2 isalongitudinal section in larger size showing the end-portions of one of the tubes.

The condenser is .of V any desired size or character, Aand in Fig. l the heads a and b are represented as united by the cylinder c, and at c is the inlet pipe for the steam and at c2 is the opening for the discharge of the water of condensation, and the movable head f incloses the inlet water way d for the condensing water that passes through the tubes e into the chamber d2, returning through the upper tubes to the chamber d and escape pipe, it 7o being understood that the parts in Fig. l are illustrative of a condenser in which the'present improvements may be applied; and that the steam may be introduced through the tubes instead of around them. The tubes e are of any desired material and of the proper length to extend from one head to the other, and at one en d each tube is' left plain, as shown in Fig. 2, and the otherv end is provided with a screw-thread at t which is of larger 8o diameter than the exterior of the tube and preferably slightly tapering, so that the tube can pass freely through the screw-threaded hole in the condenser head and be screwed into placewith facility and made perfectly tight either by the screw-threads fit-ting accurately or by the application of such material as red lead to the screw-thread, and it is advantageous to make use of notches 2 in the end of the tube for the reception of any suit- 9o able key or wrench. The plain end of the tube passes into or through the head b of the condenser, at which point any suitable packing is to be applied around the plain exterior of the tube. Numerous packings have heretofore been made either of which is adapted to making the plain end of the tube tight.

Ferrules of wood, vulcanized ber or other suitable material can be made use of, either passing through the head b and expanded at roe 'other fibrous material at It so as to make a each side thereof for the tube e to pass into or through, or such packings maybe inserted into recesses in the condenser head.

We have represen ted a screw gland formed of the sleeve l screwed into the screw-threaded `recess in the Vhead b and `acting to compressagasket or packing of corset Alace or tight joint around `the tube e, ibut itis to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to any particular character of packing.

By the present improvement one end of `th e condenser tube is permanently and reliably connected to one head of the condenser, and the other end of the tubeisfreeto expander contract within the packing at theother head of the condenser. Hence the tubes are kept tight at each end, crawling is prevented, andy any tube can be removed withfacility when-` ever desired.

Weare awarethat tubes havebeen made withscrew threads at the two ends and also 1- that the screw-threadat one end has been` largerrthan the exterior' of :the tube, so that the tube will pass freelythrough the hole into which the enlarged end is screwed. W'eare also awarethat packing glands have-been applied at both ends of the tube audthat the tubehas been-retained in position so that it will not `be displaced endwise by expansion or contraction by means ofprojections upon the; collar or screw ring, and also by projections upon the tubesthemselves. In our present? invention-the enlarged screwthread at one` end of' the tubepermits the tube to be passed freely through `the hole `into which `the enh largement issubsequently screwed, not only 1 to -make a tight joint, but to retain the tube against longitudinal movement, and in con` sequence ot" this constructionthe other end of` the tube is made plain and smooth `tor any desired lengt-h, and such plain smooth portion passing through the packing, the joint is rendered tight bysuch packing and the expansiongand contraction do `not act in any manner to injure the packing. In cases where a tube `-has been plain at one end and ascrew-i thread cut in the other end,such tube is `not adapted to a condenser, because the power i for rotatingthe tube and screwing it into place `has to be applied at one end of the tube andthe screw at the other end. Hence the. tube is liable to betwistedand `injured,and` thisis the case whether oneend of thet-ube is plain and slides in a plain hole in the tube sheet, or whether the end of the tube is adapted to receive a packing. By our present improvementthe screwfthread being larger than the tube the power to screw the Seine interlaw -iS applied @immediately edjacent to 'the screw,.a'n'd torsion upon the tube is prevented, and the distant end of the tube being plain is free to turn in the tube sheet evenwithout the frictionof the packing which is preferably-set uplafter the tube has vbeen screwed into place.V For these `reasons our construction is more reliable and has proved to be specially useful in surface condensers where the sudden changes intemperature to which the parts are subjected have heretofore tended to injure the packings or to give motion endwise to the tubes until arrested by `a stop. In conse quence of one end of `the tube being held firmly by the tube sheet no movement can be given to the tube in thelpacking except that slight and uniformbackward and forward 1 movement resulting fromexp'ansion and contraction, `and we are enabled to make a "perfectly tight condenser with only one `paclfring to' each tube.

In Patent No. 228,908, granted June `15, 1880, screw-threads are shown cut into the surface ofthetube witha packing at the other end. In Patent No. 41,545, grantedFebruary 9, 1864, the tubes ,are provided with Athreads cut into one end andwith notches atthe other end by whichithetubes are screwediuto position, and in-Patent No. 18,669,` granted `November 24,1857, thimbles are represented at the two ends of the tube,rand in Patent MNO.

366,234, granted July 12, 1887, thetubewhas an enlarged uscrew-thread at one end and a screw-thread cut'into the metal at the other end.

VWe claim as our invention- The combination with the condenser heads, of tubes passingthrough such heads, each tube having an enlarged screw-thread around one end and means adjacent to the screw-thread for rotating the same, whereby such "tube is screwed into the screw-threaded hole for permanentl-yconnectin g suchtube with one head, the smooth and free portion of the tubeat the other end beingwithin the'opposite head, and a packing surrounding this end of the tube, and means for compressiugthe same around the tube, substantially `as set forth.

Signed by us this `8th day of February, A. D. 1893.

FREDK. MERIAM VHEELER. CLIFTON H. WHEELER. Witnesses:

O. i GRoEsBUD, GEO. T. PINCKNEY.

IOO 

